Report Delves Into Preventable Surgical Errors
When you check into a hospital for a procedure, you count on the fact that certain no-brainer things will be handled appropriately so that the surgery itself will go off without a hitch. The right body part will be operated on. Equipment won’t be left behind inside your body when the procedure is finished. You… read more
Stryker Wingspan Stent System Usage Instructions Tweaked by FDA
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to healthcare providers explaining to them that the instructions for use of the Stryker Wingspan Stent System have changed. Used to widen the narrowed arteries of the brains of repeated stroke victims, these stents should, according to the FDA, only be used in a certain subset… read more
Liberation Therapy MS Treatment Criticized by FDA
A treatment that some claim can help combat multiple sclerosis is taking fire from the Food and Drug Administration because they say a correlation cannot be established that would prove the treatment’s efficacy. Under scrutiny is a form of treatment known as liberation therapy. This type of treatment involves using stents or balloon angioplasty devices… read more
Helicopters Trauma Patient Rescue Rate Higher Than Ambulances
If you’re involved in a life-threatening accident that requires immediate medical attention, then it’s imperative that you get to a trauma center as quickly as possible, and a new study suggests that you might be better off traveling by air than on the street. The Journal of the American Medical Association has just published a… read more
Doctor Claims Riata Heart Implant Had Deadly Defect
A battle is shaping up between the makers of a medical device and a doctor who is saying that a defect in the device directly contributed to the death of more than 20 people. In the March issue of the Heart Rhythm Journal, a medical journal, a doctor has written a report about St. Jude… read more
FDA Partners with ISMP To Prevent Medication Errors
The Food and Drug Administration is partnering with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in an attempt to prevent costly and dangerous medication errors that could negatively impact consumers. Medication errors can encompass any number of accidents, be it a mistake in labeling, a miscommunication, or a prescription mixup. Typical cases can include a physician… read more
FDA May Force Metal Hip Implants to Undergo More Testing
The Food and Drug Administration might soon be imposing stiffer rules on a certain medical device. It was announced today that the FDA would meet on June 27 and 28 to consider whether or not they should require metal on metal hip implants to face additional testing if such devices aim to gain approval by… read more
Bedford Labs Recalls Three Lots of Leukemia Fighting Drug
A recall has been announced for an item that there’s already a shortage of thanks to a variety of other recalls. Bedford Laboratories out of Ohio has issued a voluntary recall for three lots of cytarabine. This is used in the treatment of leukemia, and is a particularly popular chemotherapy drug due to its irreplaceability… read more
Children Mechanical Cardiac Assist Device Approved By FDA
According to news sources, the Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a medical device to help children suffering from heart failure that will reportedly to stay alive while a heart transplant donor can be found. The device us called EXCOR Pediatric System and was developed by Berlin Heart for the purpose of fitting the… read more